In its worst forms, compulsive hoarding can cause fires, unclean living conditions because of rat and roach infestations, injuries from tripping over clutter, and other health and safety problems, including death.

On this blog, we previously examined the effects of compulsive hoarding on a family and their daughter. These parents’ dysfunctional lifestyle showcased the unsanitary and sometimes dangerous impact hoarding can have on a family.

woman's bones found under piles of junk

Extreme Case of Hoarding

The following account brings to light the grim reality of what can happen to an elderly person living alone and suffering from a compulsive hoarding disorder.  Source: NBCWashington.com

When Eunice Workman disappeared seven years ago, a search was launched but turned up nothing.

Then in March of 2009, investigators believed they found the elderly woman’s bones right inside her own home.

Investigators were called to a home in the 700 block of 47th Street in Oakland at about 8 p.m. Wednesday where workers hired to clean an abandoned home had discovered a cache of human bones that are now believed to Workman’s, an officer from the Oakland Police Department said.

The home was reportedly filled from floor to ceiling with hoarded belongings. Preliminary reports indicated that the victim may have died by being crushed or trapped by collected piles of junk, and was simply never found, police said.

Her children reported her as missing several years ago and people looked for her but she was never found.   The thought was that she might have left town.

Her next-door neighbor told NBC that she was nice and quiet but a little eccentric given the amount of junk she had collected inside her home.

This extreme example highlights the importance of a regular presence in the life on an elderly person. Home Care assistance, such as employing a Home Instead Caregiver, can help with such ordinary aspects of daily living as sorting through and cleaning out clutter and garbage from the home, and providing communication with out-of-town family members who may be unable to physically help care for their aging relative. 

Be sure your elderly loved one is safe and clutter-free at home.

If you know of a senior or have an elderly loved one in Richmond or Tappahannock that may have hoarding tendencies, simply call our Home Instead Senior Care office at 804.527.1100 for assistance.

{ 0 comments }

Northern Neck Assisted Living: Essex House

by Teresa Steinfatt on August 31, 2010

Essex House Assisted Living, Tappahannock, Virginia

Essex House is a small but caring assisted living facility in Tappahannock, Virginia.

We’re continuing our series of featuring senior care facilities in the Richmond and Northern Neck areas.  This week, we’re profiling the Essex House in Tappahannock, Virginia.

The Essex House is an assisted living facility located at 17976 Tidewater Trail, Tappahannock, VA 22560.  It is managed by the American Retirement Homes compay, which is a family-owned management company for six Assisted Living Residences and ten Personal Care Agencies located throughout Virginia and one Independent Living Residence in Warsaw.

As one of six assisted living facilities, Essex House is small, intimate, and family oriented in feel and layout.  Being smaller in size allows residents to maintain the feeling of home instead of just being a number as they so often are in institutional settings of larger facilities.

Residents may choose private or semi-private furnished rooms.  All of the worrisome household chores are taken care of for the residents so that they may enjoy their days with friends and family or participating in their planned social activity program. 

Nutritious home-cooked meals and snacks are prepared everyday and medication technicians are on staff to ensure that residents take the proper dosage of their medication throughout the day.  Should the time come that your elderly loved one needs assistance in everyday activities of daily living, then they have the staff to assist in any way needed.

Essex House has been serving Virginia Seniors for over 40 years with Senior Living options to meet a variety of needs. Their staff is “dedicated and committed to providing quality care with a personal touch.”

Designed for easy living, each residence offers different room plans, dining options, community living rooms, and outdoor areas that are in stark contrast to the institutional feel of larger facilities.

For more information about Essex House, call 804-443-5921.

And for more information about how Home Instead Senior Care can help seniors remain living independently at home, wherever that may be, call our Tappahannock home care office at 804.443.4885 anytime.  Or, in Richmond, call 804.527.1100.

{ 0 comments }

Care, Companionship can Help Prevent Hoarding Syndrome in Seniors

August 30, 2010

The headlines are sensational and often sound unbelievable. “Woman suffocates and dies under collapsed piles of clothes.” “Male trash hoarder dies in labyrinth of garbage tunnels.” These stories seem extreme and isolated. But according to research from the University of Michigan Health System, hoarding presents a real danger, not only for those who do it [...]

Read the full article →

Video: The Physical, Emotional and Mental Signs of Aging

August 26, 2010

In this video “Physical Symptoms and Emotional and Mental Changes to Look for” Mary Alexander from Home Instead Senior Care stresses that recognizing the physical and emotional signs of aging doesn’t take a lot of time and some symptoms you can even “hear” over the phone. The issues underlying physical and emotional signs may be [...]

Read the full article →

Richmond Independent and Assisted Living: Gayton Terrace Retirement Community

August 25, 2010

Each week, Home Instead Senior Care of Richmond profiles one of the local senior retirement communities for our readers’ information.  This week we are profiling Gayton Terrace. Gayton Terrace, which is owned by Horizon Bay, is a four-story, 100-unit senior retirement community located in the upscale west end of Richmond.  Built on 10 acres, the [...]

Read the full article →

Richmond Senior Living: Brandermill Woods Retirement Community

August 23, 2010

Gazebo at Brandermill Woods Each week, Home Instead Senior Care of Richmond provides readers with a synopsis of a senior living communities in the local area.  This week, we profile Brandermill Woods in Midlothian — just southwest of Richmond. Brandermill Woods is a senior retirement community with options for independent living, assisted living, memory care, nursing [...]

Read the full article →

Video: Providing Care for Aging Parent in Richmond, Virginia

August 19, 2010

In this video series “Aging Parent Care,” Mary Alexander from Home Instead Senior Care explains that, while there are lots of good reasons seniors want to stay home, one of the fears that drives this desire is the potential loss of independence. They so much want to avoid being a burden on their families and [...]

Read the full article →

Technology Helps Caregivers Be There Even When They Can’t Be Physically Present

August 18, 2010

We often bemoan the curse of contemporary technology and its insidious assault on our time and attention. The distractions are endless – ringing cell phones, beeping text messages, and buzzing Twitter alerts. But let’s face it; if you were a long-distance caregiver, or even a local one with a full time job, wouldn’t the prospect [...]

Read the full article →

Help (Not) Wanted: 5 Strategies to Help Counter a Senior’s Resistance to Assistance

August 17, 2010
Thumbnail image for Help (Not) Wanted: 5 Strategies to Help Counter a Senior’s Resistance to Assistance

Seniors often don’t realize that getting a little help now, when they’re getting a little older, can help them remain living independently for a lot longer than if they try to do everything on their own.  Following are strategies from Home Instead Senior Care® and family caregiving consultant Dr. Amy D’Aprix to help family caregivers [...]

Read the full article →

Richmond Assisted Living: Dunlop House in Colonial Heights

August 16, 2010

Each week, Home Instead Senior Care of Richmond profiles a senior retirement community in Richmond or the Northern Neck.  Today, we highlight the Dunlop House in Colonial Heights, just south of Richmond. Dunlop House offers both Assisted Living and specialized Alzheimer’s and memory care. Designed with seniors in mind, Dunlop House features studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom floor [...]

Read the full article →